


in the woods

by such_heights



Category: Doctor Who, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-05
Updated: 2011-01-05
Packaged: 2017-10-17 14:21:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/177770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/such_heights/pseuds/such_heights
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Just fellow travellers in the woods, nothing to worry about."</p>
            </blockquote>





	in the woods

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Iambic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iambic/gifts).



There's something that is not quite a sound in the forest. Hermione freezes, and the boys sense the same thing, halting right behind her. Wordlessly, Hermione casts spells around them to keep them safe and hidden until the danger's passed.

Three people walk into the clearing in front of them. A man and a woman hold hands while another man walks in front of them, his hands pinging his braces as he looks around the place. The man with the braces can't be older than thirty but he's dressed like a stuffy Oxford don, tweed and all. Hermione stares a little, wondering what three Muggles are doing out here in the middle of nowhere. It's a pretty impassable bit of the countryside, tough to get to without Apparition, and they're hardly dressed for climbing.

"It's all right, they can't see us," Hermione says in a low voice, putting her hand on Harrry's arm as he raises his wand.

Which is when the man in the tweed looks straight at them.

"Oh," he frowns, in response to Hermione's widening eyes. "Sorry. That sort of thing doesn't usually work on me."

"Doctor?" the woman behind him asks. "Is someone there?"

"Hang on a sec," the Doctor says, flashing a green light at them. "There you go. Just fellow travellers in the woods, nothing to worry about." He's looking at Harry as he says it. "I'm the Doctor, and this is Amy and Rory."

"Hello," says Rory, with an expression of resigned bemusement.

"Um," says Ron. "Hi."

"Good, good, introductions. Well, don't worry, you're clearly in a hurry and we'd better be going. Took a bit of a wrong turn, you see, actually meant to end up a few thousand light years away from here but you know how it is."

"He _said_ we were going to the new Martian colonies," said Amy. Hermione got the impression that there was frequently something of a gap between what the Doctor said and what he did.

"And here we are in the Forest of Dean, in the snow," said Rory. "Time travel just isn't what it used to be."

"What do you mean, Martian colonies --" Harry starts.

"Is this meant to be a joke?" Hermione asks.

"Barking mad," says Ron.

The Doctor, Amy and Rory smile identical, knowing smiles.

"Well, anyway, we'd best get going," says the Doctor. "Amy'll have my kneecaps if I don't get her to an alien planet soon, always the demanding ones."

"Nice to meet you," says Rory.

"Take care!" says Amy.

Hermione bites her lip as they walk past. She, Harry and Ron have a long, hard journey ahead of them and it's neither worth the risk nor the waste of time to stick around talking to lunatics.

They're walking further away.

Hermione says, then shouts, "Wait, wait!"

She runs up to the Doctor, who wheels around, grinning.

"How could you see us? What was that thing you used with the green light? What do you mean there are new Martian colonies? Time travel doesn't work like that, I would know!"

"Hermione, they're having you on," says Ron. "They're just Muggles, come on, let's go. Right, Harry?"

Harry is just staring.

"I think you've got some explaining to do," says Hermione.

The Doctor preens, twirling to look at Amy and Rory then back to Hermione. "I do love explaining," he says. "How would you like to see my time machine?"

Hermione gapes, then nods, because against her better judgement she knows they're really only one answer.

"I must say, it's a pleasure to meet you, Hermione Granger," the Doctor says, beaming. "It's not often I get to meet people who are almost as clever as me."


End file.
